Hybrid Event Excellence: Ericsson at MWC22

Ericsson technology brings digitalization leaps into the physical world. Their exciting capabilities were on full display at MWC22, both on-site and online. In targeting a goal of supporting an individual's preference for "more physical and less digital" or "more digital and less physical," the company showcased its 5G prowess.

On-site, the goal was to deliver an immersive experience through the "Imagine Possible" multi-sensory story. This innovation even included the senses of smell and touch. Remote or asynchronous visitors could also enjoy this experience digitally through the "Imagine Possible QR Code," which delivered the presentation via an online 3D adventure.

Enabling Inclusivity

Through a surprisingly novel and "human-focused" approach, Ericsson emphasized the need to embrace "Onsite/Remote Inclusivity" through network connectivity. This goal was attained by stationing on-site camera crews at each technology demonstration station. This approach enabled the delivery of an interactive experience to those not physically present. The focus on inclusivity gave the Ericsson Team the ability to tailor the demo experience to large or small groups, be they physically present, remote, or both.

On-site visitors could also take a deeper dive into Ericsson success stories and technology demonstrations by connecting digitally with remote Ericsson experts virtually accessible over the network in real-time. That meant that demo booth visitors had immediate access to deep and relevant technical expertise independent of that expert's location.

The critical challenge in this successful hybrid event implementation was correctly predicting physical attendance numbers. By accurately forecasting that physical attendance would be 25%-33% of pre-pandemic levels, Ericsson perfectly designed the booth to provide the space needed to support the multiple camera crews and production equipment required to deliver their world-class digital engagement. This approach made this hybrid event superior to any previous standard while simultaneously setting an extremely high bar for delivering hybrid event excellence.

Engaging Demonstrations

The demonstrations themselves were equally fulfilling. Each, in their way, the lessons Ericsson and the world have learned over the last three years regarding mobile networks' role as a crucial national infrastructure component. Inefficient, unreliable, or inaccessible wireless connectivity would make it impossible for a population to go to work, learn from home or connect with their loved ones.

Although the promise of Limitless Connectivity is not quite here yet, society is collectively pushing the industry towards doing what it takes to make that journey. Both businesses and consumers expect a future that features a digital twin of their city used to manage the physical one capable of providing reliable service to trillions of connected devices. They also demand an environmentally sustainable approach with movement and thermal energy harvesting techniques used to power these devices. This future world will also deliver information and value through an "Internet of  Senses" expanded from voice and vision to taste, smell, and advanced haptics.

Getting there within the next ten years requires carriers to build a baseline today to deliver the needed infrastructure foundation two years from now. To follow this path, operators today must:

• Modernize with cost-effectiveness.
• Expand into new business opportunities; and
• Managing the increase in networking complexity.

The Ericsson radio demonstration featured Vodafone UK as an example of a carrier stepping up to this challenge. The CSPs Massive MIMO radio deployment in London uses new Ericsson radios that feature the company's silicon design. Although the radio's form factor is smaller and lighter, it delivers superior performance with reduced power consumption. This design enabled the provider to deploy the radios to downtown London building tops, accelerating time to market while simultaneously reducing energy consumption by 40%. Additional benefits include:

• Delivering the ability to drive sustainable business expansion.
• Enabling efficient coverage expansion.
• Lowering network transmission cost per bit.
• Smoothly transitioning into a 5G infrastructure; and
• Breaking the energy curve.

Another one of the demos highlights how network traffic characteristics are rapidly changing. It demonstrated how this evolution drives a dramatic increase in video content creators (i.e. YouTube) who want to share their ideas and experiences. This growth, in turn, causes a massive need for more upload bandwidth. Ericsson met this challenge by Combining 5G millimeter-wave and mid-band radios to deliver 1gigabit per sec. or upload.

One of the more impressive booths showed how operators could expand their market through extended reality. The pathway used an interactive environment to provide realistic experiences of:

• A 2023 immersive multiplayer XR gaming environment that used XR glasses, edge computing, and local deployment of 5G technology.
• The delivery of advanced immersive education tools on 2026 university campuses required network carriers to deliver network exposure, network slicing, guaranteed quality of service, and guaranteed quality of experience across the network; and
• The broad deployment of network connectivity, communications infrastructure, compute infrastructure, and edge servers in 2030, coupled with enhanced standardization across XR devices, can enable the provisioning of the shared spatial information needed to build the digital twin of a city.

To learn more or to experience Ericsson's "Imagine Possible," scan the QR code or visit the Ericsson MWC 2022 website at https://bit.ly/3uVg10d.

This article was sponsored by Ericsson Digital.